AsianScientist (Aug. 28, 2025) – Agilent Technologies is no stranger to transformation. For more than two decades, the scientific-instruments leader has grown its footprint in Singapore from regional base to globally recognized innovation hub—one of only five local facilities named by the World Economic Forum as a Lighthouse for advanced manufacturing.
Now, with a newly launched enterprise-wide transformation called Ignite, Agilent is sharpening its customer focus and doubling down on collaboration, digitalization and agility. Padraig McDonnell, president and CEO of Agilent, discusses the company’s evolving priorities, Singapore’s strategic role and the multiplier effect of partnership.
1. Agilent has had a strong presence in Singapore for over 25 years. Why was it important to expand into Southeast Asia, and how has this proved beneficial for both Agilent and Singapore?
Singapore has played a huge role in Agilent’s growth story. At the highest level, we’re here to bring great science to life, and that comes to life through our deep focus on customers and enabling outcomes in life sciences, diagnostics and applied markets. Southeast Asia, and Asia more broadly, is a fast-growing and diverse region.
Singapore has been an amazing hub in Asia for us. We have over 600 skilled scientists, engineers and other employees here and a 172,000 square foot facility. Over the years, we’ve expanded from automation to mass spectrometry solutions. In 2017, our investment of S$85 million in manufacturing and research activities embodies the trust we have in Singapore’s innovation ecosystem.
What makes Singapore especially attractive is the combination of geographic advantage, world-class infrastructure, pro-innovation policies and strong IP protection. Above all, it is the talent and capability—we value Singapore’s focus on developing talent in both scientific areas and leadership.
2. Agilent recently launched its Ignite transformation. What is the strategic vision behind it and how will customers benefit?
It’s a company-wide transformation designed to help us scale more effectively and serve customers better. The strategy is centered on markets and customers, not just products, and that shift helps us stay aligned with what matters most to the people we serve.
We have a long-range plan of 5 to 7% core revenue growth annually and double-digit earnings per share (EPS) growth. Ignite is also about how we operate. We want to simplify global processes, reduce complexity and build a more agile value chain.
For customers, this means shorter lead times, greater consistency and quality, and faster response to their needs. It also means faster product launches and co-innovation. For instance, in areas like PFAS analysis or biopharma workflows, we’re accelerating how quickly analytical instruments reach the hands of researchers.
3. Agilent has launched several collaborative projects here with partners like NUS, NTU, NCCS and NUH. Why are such partnerships so important in the clinical lab technology space?
Partnerships bring complementary strengths together across academic rigour, clinical insight and technological expertise. That’s really powerful in the clinical-laboratory space, where speed and precision can directly impact patient outcomes.
Take our collaboration with NUS Medicine and NUH. We launched a S$38 million translational R&D hub in 2019 to boost clinical diagnostics and testing through biochemical innovation and techniques. The alliance has since produced over 95 scientific publications and more than 50 local and international partnerships. More recently, we partnered with NCCS to accelerate genomic profiling of Asian-prevalent cancers using our fully automated NGS library prep systems.
We’re also working with NUS Medicine to support cardiovascular and metabolic disease research through the new Centre of Excellence in Cell Metabolism. These are all structured, outcome-oriented collaborations that bring science from bench to bedside.
The way I look at it is: The world is our laboratory. Great ideas don’t come from Agilent alone. By building the right partnerships among government, industry and academia in key areas of research, we can accelerate science advancement and advance the quality of life.
4. How do these partnerships ultimately improve Agilent’s offerings for customers?
Our partnerships close the gap between innovation and implementation. Working with leading clinicians and researchers enables us to design technologies that fit real-world lab workflows. That makes our solutions more relevant and easier to adopt.
It also speeds up the feedback loop. We can test, validate and refine solutions in partnership with our collaborators, which shortens time-to-market and ensures that customers benefit from scientific advances sooner.
Another important aspect is local responsiveness. These partnerships deepen our understanding of market needs in Asia and help us provide more tailored support in many facets — from product design to service to education.
Going forward, I think what we’re going to see is even faster connection with customers around some of the most difficult challenges we have in our world.
5. Agilent is also pushing forward with scalable AI and digital-lab solutions. What changes should customers expect?
Through our Global Solution Development Center in Singapore and beyond, we’ve built a comprehensive digital-lab ecosystem that transforms research labs’ potential into peak performance.
Our focus spans four key optimization areas: data, instruments, the lab environment and the broader enterprise. By integrating AI-driven insights with connected technologies, we simplify complex workflows, automate processes and enhance data accuracy across research and production.
Scientists can expect more predictive analytics, seamless instrument connectivity and improved solutions that reduce labor-intensive workflows and variability. Harnessing Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, we drive efficiency and sustainability—whether it’s how our instruments work or the way we build them. Our commitment is demonstrated through four smart factories recognized by the World Economic Forum for their breakthroughs in scaling 4IR.
It’s very clear that in today’s competitive landscape, digitalization is no longer a “nice-to-have.” Digitalization is foundational to how labs perform and we’re proud to help our customers lead that transition.
6. Looking ahead, what’s your vision for Agilent in the next five years?
We strive to be even more customer-centric. That’s the core of everything we’re doing. We’re continuing to invest in innovation—both organic and through M&A, and we’re expanding into high-growth adjacencies.
We’re also enabling greater automation and enhancing our software capabilities to support labs around the world. The goal is to make it easier for customers to solve complex challenges, whether that’s speeding up therapeutic development or detecting microplastics more effectively.
Ultimately, we’re building an enduring company that can help accelerate scientific progress while staying deeply connected to the people who use our technologies every day.
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Source: Agilent Technologies
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